


Out of Time - Katherine Vance Collection

by radbeetle



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26220499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radbeetle/pseuds/radbeetle
Summary: main story related scenes featuring my sole survivor. presented in chronological order so if this updates i might have shoved something in the middlesome of these have pictures
Comments: 11
Kudos: 10





	1. After Concord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Downtime in Sanctuary, after the chaos in Concord. (after 'When Freedom Calls')

The warmth of the campfire was soothing after the trek back from Concord - the crisp autumn air was starting to give way to the chill of winter. Katherine sighed, scratching at the drying blood coating her cheek. The whole right side of her face was tender, the open wound still oozing. She was positive there would be a horrendous bruise across her face in the morning. Kate stared across the street at the empty power armor slumped on her driveway. Her blood surely still coated the inside of the helmet - and the outside was spattered with deathclaw.

She shuddered at the thought of the monstrous beast that had towered over her, even inside the T-45 - and that had almost taken her down. Even with the layers of steel between them, even with the minigun torn from a vertibird, the creature had still proven itself a danger. Katherine pulled her knees closer to her chest and curled up, trying not to think about what could have happened.

"Ma'am?" Preston's voice was gentle, and he was careful not to startle her. She peeked out, eyes watery. It wasn't until all the adrenaline had left her system that Katherine realized how much she wanted to cry.

Since he first caught sight of her outside the museum, Preston had known Katherine was out of her element; the signature colors of the vault suit told him that much. Now that everything had stopped, now that there was, for once, a quiet moment, he was starting to see just how lost she was.

Katherine wiped away the tears with the back of her hand, streaking dirt and blood across her face. She struggled to regain her composure - and found herself only somewhat successful. "Mr- Mr. Garvey. I didn't see you there. Um, I'm sorry."

"Please, call me Preston. Mr. Garvey was my father." Katherine managed a small chuckle despite her nerves. Preston smiled softly. It was such a small thing, but had already lightened the mood, just the smallest bit. He lowered himself to the ground, taking a seat next to the exhausted survivor.

"It's been one hell of a day, huh? I have to say, you really came through for us back at the museum. I owe you for that. We all do."

Kate turned away, hands wrapped around each other as she focused her attention on the dirt. "It's..." Well, it wasn't really _nothing_ , she realized. "I'm glad I could help, I guess."

"You guess?" Preston raised an eyebrow, and shook his head. "You saved us, no two ways about it."

She looked away, quiet. As much as she would rather not take the credit... she had gotten a good look at the situation, and part of her knew Preston was right. Without any outside support... they wouldn't have made it. She shivered. It was nothing but pure chance that had gotten them out, and that bothered her.

They were both shaken, but Preston had a feeling in his gut; he had seen the telltale blue of a vault suit before. 81 sent out traders on occasion, but even they were more prepared for a gunfight than Katherine was. The way her hands shook around the grip of her 10mm pistol - not a common sight in the wasteland. Even those reluctant to fire on another person knew the value of steady hands. Whatever was going on here, she was... well, certainly not helpless, but...

Preston placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, and it took every fiber of her not to jerk away from the reassuring touch.

"I'm... I'm sorry." Katherine sighed.

"What for?"

"I just... god, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't - I don't know what's happening anymore."

Preston couldn't help but be a little surprised. Here she was, having come out of nowhere, turning the tides in their favor... and she was the one apologizing?

"I'd ask if you were alright, but I think I know the answer."

Kate clutched at the fabric of her vault suit. Another reminder of how out of place, out of _time_ she was.

"... I swear, I can usually keep it together a little better than this."

"You're having a rough time. I get it." He stroked her back, in an attempt to calm her. "You wanna talk about it? Might help." He wasn't expecting much.

She tried to catch her breath. "I don't know what to say, what - where to start. When to start...?"

"You could always start at the beginning."

"Is that the bombs, or the vault... going in or coming out?"

"You're really gonna have to fill me in."

Kate sighed. "It... two weeks ago, or what felt like two weeks ago... I was just at home, getting ready for another day, and it all went to hell." She squeezed her eyes shut. "The newscaster - they had confirmed reports of... of atomic bombs dropped. I - we barely made it to the vault."

Preston furrowed his brow, but stayed silent, watching Katherine wring her hands as she recounted the events of that day.

"But that wasn't two weeks ago. That was two centuries ago and I know... I KNOW how crazy that sounds, and I still can't wrap my head around it. But they - Vault-Tec, they put everyone on ice."

She took a deep breath, and leaned back, staring up at the darkening skies. "Cryogenic stasis. I always figured that was science fiction. Guess it's science fact, now."

Preston was... well, he was speechless. Part of him wanted to write it off as a crazy tale, nothing but a fabrication.

There was something about her, though; her attitude, her behavior, the apprehension in her eyes, and it all lead him to believe that maybe... she was telling the truth, as impossible as it seemed.

"That's one hell of a story. I guess everything has really changed for you, huh?" He looked across Sanctuary, at all the ruined houses, the fallen trees, the decaying cars. It was hard for him to imagine what everything would have looked like so long ago.

"...I lived here. I suppose - I guess I still do." She stared across the road at the faded and chipped walls of her house. Codsworth had exited the building at some point, and taken it upon himself to start washing the gore from the suit of power armor Katherine had brought home.

"No kidding? Huh." Preston looked thoughtful. "If Mama Murphy were awake right now I'm sure she'd have something to say about fate." He followed her gaze across the street. "It's got to be hard for you to see everything like this. I couldn't begin to imagine what that's like."

Codsworth's humming was the only thing that broke the silence for a good few moments.

"I don't even know how to deal with it," Katherine admitted. "I had a house, I had a job, I had - I had friends. Not many, but they were there. It wasn't perfect, not at all, but it was my life and now... it's all gone, and there's nothing I can do to change that." There were tears streaming down her face, and she shuddered as she choked back a sob.

Right now, she thought, she would like more than anything to curl in on herself and vanish from this moment.

Eventually, she spoke up again. "I... I'm sorry, Preston, you've got enough to deal with, you shouldn't have to put up with me."

"Hey, come on. No one should have to go through this on their own. People always do better with a friend at their side. That's something more folks in the Commonwealth need to realize. Gotta be there for each other."

"Hey, boss, I hate to interrupt your little heart to heart..."

Katherine jumped a little at Sturges' interruption. She hadn't seen him approach. Preston turned to look up at him, waiting to see what he had to say. 

"We've salvaged a few mattresses from the houses 'round here. It ain't much, but it oughta do for tonight. Gonna look into fixing up some of the bed frames tomorrow." He looked to Katherine with a hint of worry. The tears, the dirty and blood across her face... their savior was falling apart.

Preston turned to her, expectantly.

Kate's answer was hesitant, shaky. "I... I guess. I was just going, um, back to my house here. To what's left of it. I don't know where else I'd go. I don't know what else is out there."

"Hey, you can worry about that tomorrow."

"Yeah. Tonight? You don't have to go anywhere."


	2. Call to Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> delving into ArcJet Systems is Katherine's first extended combat experience - and her first experience with synths.

"These robots were assaulted by institute synths."

Katherine scrunched up her face and shielded her eyes as she looked up at Danse , who insisted on keeping his headlamp on.

"Um, sorry, I - I gotta ask... what are... synths?" _and what's the institute, for that matter_ , she thought to herself, but one question at a time.

"Technological abominations created by the institute, and let loose to run rampant throughout the commonwealth." Danse's voice was heavy with disgust, even through the buzzy modulation of his power armor.

"Danse. That's... I get that you don't like them, but what _are_ they?" Katherine pleaded. "Just... in simple terms? Please?"

He scoffed. "I would have thought you familiar with them. Most in the Commonwealth seem to be."

Katherine deflated, shoulders sinking. "Well... just... I'm out of the loop. Let's leave it at that."

The blank stare of the T-60's helmet concealed Danse's puzzlement. Regardless, he provided explanation. "Robots, built in the shape of man. A mannequin brought to life by machinery. They're a mockery of humankind at best, and a blight upon this world at worst."

Katherine bit her tongue, and suppressed her curiosity. As much as she wanted to know more, it was obvious Danse was biased. "I guess things have come a long way from the Mr. Handy, huh." There was still a little bit of awe in her voice - she very much wanted to see these synths. _Truly h_ umanoid robots had always been a lofty goal of the industry... she had heard of RobCo's Assaultrons, but they were still miles away.

Danse scoffed. "Unfortunately. Keep your eyes open as we move deeper into the facility. It's highly likely that the Institute's forces still have a presence here." The paladin was already moving on, and Katherine was quick to follow.

"Mmm-hmm." She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Part of her was brimming with curiosity about these synths... and part of her knew that if they could take down those protectrons, they could take down _her_.

"This place has really been trashed, huh? What do you think it was like back in the day?"

"Filled with men making poor decisions, I'm certain."

Katherine pressed her lips. So much for small talk. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the hallways opened up into another room. Two dust coated windows framed a sliding door, which Danse was quick to investigate.

"This is the way forwards, but it seems to be locked tight. There's no apparent way to open it from here."

Katherine straightened up, and holstered her 10mm. "Oh, if there's no visible controls on the door, they're likely wired into a local terminal. It's technically required for them have a way to bypass the lock through the hardware, in case of emergency, but they never make it easy. Security stuff. Uh..." she trailed off for a moment, glancing around the room. There were a few desks still standing on the opposite wall, terminals still intact. "Um, give me a moment." She kicked a toppled chair away from the desk, and bent over the keyboard. "Mmm, this one's still logged in. I guess there's not really time to properly disconnect from your workstation when they're bombing the city." she muttered as she scrolled through the inbox.

"Any luck over there?" Danse inquired.

"I've got access to the internal mail system, uh, lots of reminders about security protocols and - ah-heh. Automated password change reminder. Looks like it's for the lab access?" Katherine had a gnawing feeling in her gut that she was over-explaining things. Surely the paladin didn't care about the specifics.

"That's where we're headed."

"Great, yeah, uh." She scanned the room again and scampered to the other still functional terminal. "Let's hope..." she trailed off.

Danse took a few steps away from the laboratory door, turning to watch Katherine with mild curiosity, hidden behind the power armor helmet. She seemed quite at home amongst the terminals and technology. An unusual trait, compared to most of the wastelanders he met. Though he was initially skeptical of her claim to being a Vault Dweller - the Brotherhood had no record of a Vault 111, after all - he wondered if perhaps there was some truth to her statement.

"Hey!" Kate's head popped up over the top of the terminal. "Got it."

"Excellent. Let's not waste any more time. If you could open the door?"

"Oh! Yeah, yeah." A swift keystroke and the door opened with the _whnk-hsss_ of pneumatics.

Paladin Danse formed around, set once again to lead the way onward, through the facility - but the incandescent blue laser bolt that buzzed his power armor brought those plans to a standstill.

"Hostile detected." The matter-of-fact statement and computerized voice carried no overt aggression, a sharp contrast to the flurry of laser fire passing through the now opened doorway.

"Synths! Take cover!"

Katherine didn't need to be told - she dove for cover behind a fallen file cabinet the instant she caught sight of the laser's flash. Her grip tightened around her pistol as she heard Danse shout - a cautious glimpse revealed that the synths - that's what he said they were? - were prioritizing the Paladin as a target, paying no attention to her. She wasn't sure if they had even noticed her.

A dozen thoughts all raced through her head, tangling together as she stared at the machines. _Mannequins_ was the comparison Danse had drawn. He wasn't too far off. They were battered, damaged, rubber skin torn to reveal steel skeletons and plastic components. Only a moment had passed before one of them turned its gaze to Kate. The faint yellow glow of its eyes and the exposed grimace of its metal skull was an eerie sight - and one that quickly exploded in a shower of sparks and shrapnel.

Danse had taken it out with a single headshot.

The moment was enough to jolt her back into action, and she followed up by returning fire. Her 10mm pistol wasn't nearly as effective as the AER-9 laser rifle Danse carried, but it did the job.

"Hmph. Sent them to the scrap heap." He noted the laser weaponry carried by the synths, and had a realization. He glanced at the pistol carried by his current associate, and offered her the backup laser rifle he had brought. "Take this. I'm certain there'll be more of them, and they'll be carrying microfusion cells. Energy will be more effective than a weapon of a ballistic nature." The Paladin tossed the rifle towards Katherine, who caught it with a startled yelp. She turned the weapon over in her hands. She had a passing familiarity with the AER-9 - though she had never personally handled one, she understood the basic mechanisms, and microfusion cells were something she was well acquainted with.

She fastened her 10mm pistol to her belt and kept the laser in hand. Danse had already stepped over the smoldering wrecks of the synths, but her curiosity was too strong. She stopped in the middle of the room, and crouched down over one of the robots.

 _They had been shooting at me only minutes ago_ , she thought, and there was still part of her that was worried they might spring back to life. Yet despite that lurking fear, she had to get a closer look.

The situation struck her as a little morbid, perhaps. Moreso than examining a broken-down Mr. Handy, at least.

It was the faces, she thought. The eyes.

The Institute. That's where Danse said they had come from. Katherine had seen how the world was torn apart, still ruined from the bombs dropped so long ago. But it seemed that somewhere out there, something had not just survived, but thrived. Moved on past the limits of the world she knew, developed things that General Atomics could only have dreamed of.

A weight settled somewhere deep in her chest as she turned one over. An aching sort of sadness.

She didn't have a chance to process those feelings, to figure out the _why_ behind them.

"What are you doing? Hurry up. We can't waste any more time." Danse snapped, irritated by what he saw as Kate's dawdling.

"Oh." Katherine's response was quiet. She got to her feet, gaze lingering on the remains of the synths, before turning away to follow Danse once again, through the ruins of ArcJet.

Katherine was worn down by the repeated encounters with the institute synths - after the first firefight she stuck closer than ever to the paladin - and stayed _behind_ him, too. The power armor could take a laser much better than she could.

She was sure Danse was scowling at her cowardice, under his helmet.

"This way leads to the engine core. We'll have to pass through here to reach the location where they've likely stored the transmitter."

Danse looked back to find Kate dragging her fingers through the dust on a long abandoned desk, staring at a box of long faded files and folders.

"Everything here stopped so suddenly... how many people do you think made it out?"

He hesitated. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"When... the bombs dropped." Katherine clarified, her voice tinged with sadness.

Danse cocked his head. "I couldn't tell you, and I doubt anyone in the commonwealth has that information, given how many years have passed since those events." He scoffed. "Regardless, I would suggest against concerning yourself with the people of the past. Their actions brought the war upon themselves."

Her only response to Danse's declaration was to go very quiet.

The elevator ride that took them to the engine core was awkward; Katherine pressed herself into the back corner of the car and wondered how much a suit of T-60 power armor weighed. Every time the elevator creaked, or groaned, she flinched. The thought that it had gone two centuries without maintenance scared her.

* * *

Kate's knuckles went white as she clutched the pitted railing, just leaning barely enough over to stare down to the depths of the room. Her eyes followed the length of the rocket booster back up, and turned to look back at Danse, whose attention was drawn upwards, assessing the staircase - and the massive gap where it had broken away over the past two centuries.

It wasn't filling Katherine with confidence, that was for sure.

\--

It was only a short few flights to the floor of the test chamber, thankfully. The ash crunched under Katherine's feet, and she walked a line around the edge of the room, idly looking over the footprints she left.

Danse placed an armored hand on the cowl of the engine, which had laid dormant for over two centuries. He wondered briefly if the brotherhood would have a use for it.

Maybe if it were smaller. As it stood, there was no way to transport the thing.

"See if you can find a way to turn the power back on. Perhaps redirect it from other parts of the facility."

"Yeah - yeah sure." There were only two ways out of the room, aside from the stairs. An elevator, unpowered and unusable, and a set of heavy steel double doors, halfway open and leading to what looked like a maintenance hall, judging by the wires and pipes running along the concrete. Seemed promising - or so she hoped.

There was a... she supposed it was some sort of control room, judging by all the consoles and buttons present, but she didn't pay much attention to it - another doorway at the rear of the room exposed a fusion generator, and that was much more promising when it came to potential power systems.

Not just one fusion generator, but two - and a terminal at the back of the room. She nudged the chair away from the desk, wheels leaving a trail in the dust. As she settled in, Kate's fingers ran across the terminal keys. There was no elaborate security down here in the depths. It didn't surprise her. But it did make her current task easier - and she was glad. She tapped her way through various options, scanning every choice and setting .

Ah. There we go. Auxiliary power. A few confirmations and...

She could hear the power systems coming to life in the walls around her, the faint buzz of electricity through wires, and the hum of mechanical systems powering up. That should have done it, if everything was still connected.

The fusion generators she had passed has turned quiet, and her gaze lingered on the fusion core left inside. Well... if that was no longer connected, no longer needed.

Push, turn, and a click as it disconnected, slipped into her pocket on the way out.

It was the sound of gunfire that made Katherine snap to attention once again. Or, more accurately, laser fire. Flashes of blue and red through the reinforced glass window of the control room.

The paladin's shouts confirmed her assumption.

"Synths!"

She froze up, eyes darting across the room, tracking the barrage of blue bolts in front of her.

It felt like hours before Danse called out again, directed at her. "Do something, Vance! Don't just - urgh - stand there!"

It was enough to jolt her into action.

She slammed her open palm down on the big red button on the console in front of her.

The sounds of laser fire weren't enough to obscure the pre-recorded countdown that initiated.

"Command accepted. Test fire commencing in five... four..."

Katherine's heart was doing backflips in her chest. "Test fi- oh _god_ oh no job on that's not -" She pounded on the window. " _Danse!_ "

"Three... two..."

Danse didn't have time to muster a response, under the onslaught of synths."

"One. Engine firing."

The roar of the engine was deafening, and Katherine's immediate reaction was to cover her ears. The sound was matched in intensity by the engine's output - even here behind the safety of the blast shield, she still felt the wave of heat.

Danse dropped to one knee, arm raised to shield his face. The steel of his power armor picked up a faint red glow around the edges under the engine's flames.

The synths weren't nearly as durable. Any of them immediately under the test engine were swiftly reduced to ash, and those with a little more distance crumpled to the floor within moments.

"Test firing completed with an efficiency rating of ninety-six point seven percent."

Katherine was already at the blast doors by the time they swung open. Her footsteps crackled in the ash as she ran to Danse.

He hadn't moved since going down, and that made her fearful.

But as she approached, he groaned, reaching for the laser rifle he had dropped.

"Danse? Oh my god I'm - shit, shit I'm sorry I didn't know - I didn't think - *are you okay?!" She was on the verge of panic.

"I'm fine." Danse grunted, getting to his feet with a little more effort than usual."Thanks to my power armor. Without it I would have fared no better than those damn synths."

Katherine reached a hand out, a gesture of support, but as she placed it on his arm...

"Ouch!" She yelped, flinching backwards. The metal still held quite a bit of heat. She shook her hand - that was gonna leave a mark.

"I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Maybe it wasn't the wisest decision, but the results are acceptable enough." The paladin gestured toward the elevator, where the call buttons were now lit up. "I strongly suggest we keep moving on. I don't know how many more synths are in this building, or if they're on their way to us again, and I'd rather not stand around to learn the answer."

Perhaps it was more of a command than a suggestion, as he didn't wait for a reply before heading towards the elevator.

"Um..." Kate hurried after him, still worried, though now for a different reason. "How much does that power armor weigh...? Is that going to be within the weight limit? I don't - that elevator is two hundred years old and I _know_ it hasn't had regular maintenance, what if it -"

Danse turned around to look at Katherine. Even with his helmet obscuring his expression, she could sense his disapproval.

"Sorry." She offered lamely, before going quiet and squeezing into the elevator car beside him.

It was a tight fit.

* * *

"All the information I've gathered indicates that the deep range transmitter is most likely stored in this control room," Danse explained, "and there's almost no evidence of scavenger activity in these parts of the facility."

"What about the synths?"

"They arrived not long before we did, from the looks of things. If the deep range transmitter isn't in the control room, one of the synths may have taken it. If that's the case, we should hope they haven't yet left the facility - if they're still here, recovering the transmitter will be a simple task."

"... more gunfights?"

"Very likely."

Katherine clutched her laser rifle just a little tighter as they made their way towards the control room.

She was very conscious of her choice to keep behind Danse. The power armor protected him - and anyone behind him.

The tinny statement of "Hostile detected." was the first sign of synths ahead, followed by the _pchew_ of laser fire overhead.

"Contact!" Danse was the superior marksman between them and was quick to take out a trio of synths. They crumpled to the ground in rapid succession, and the third found its plastic skin burnt to ash as it fell.

Katherine was quick to offer fire against the last two synths as Danse reloaded - though none of her shots missed, she was far less accurate. It took more than twice as many shots for her to take them down.

"Well done."

"Oh - um. Thank- thank you." She never was great at handling praise, and was quick to scamper off in search of the transmitter, investigating the destroyed synths while Danse searched the room.

A few recovered microfusion cells found their way into her pockets, before a larger item caught her eye. She nudged the synth aside with her boot, uncovering... well, she wasn't _certain_ it was the deep range transmitter but it did have the look of a very complicated and very expensive piece of technology.

Katherine made her way back to Danse with the device slung under her arm. "Hey - I found this and um. Is this what you're after?"

"That would be it, yes. Excellent! And it doesn't appear to have sustained any damage."

"Yeah, that's good news."

"There should be a way to exit the facility from here, so there won't be any need to backtrack. Follow me."

Danse wasn't one to loiter - Katherine found it hard to keep up with him.

"... oh, another elevator."

* * *

The service elevator led to an exit behind the ArcJet building, up a hill, sheltered inside a concrete structure. The commonwealth was quiet - there were no signs of any synths lingering outside. They were both equally relieved by this.

Danse took a few steps past the aged, rusting fence, and turned back to face Katherine. With his rifle holstered he reached up to remove his helmet, tucking it under one arm as he spoke. "well, I'm certain that could have gone smoother, but mission accomplished."

Kate winced. She really had no frame of reference here. "I'm - I'm sorry. I didn't..." She trailed off, deflating.

"While the operation was flawed, your contributions were still invaluable. Without your assistance I would certainly have been overwhelmed on multiple occasions. I'm not certain I could have retrieved the transmitter on my own."

"Oh...!" There was surprise in Kate's exclamation. She shuffled her feet a bit, awkward. "I'm... glad to hear that. I think."

The paladin continued onward. "With that said, I believe we have two important matters to discuss. First and foremost is the deep range transmitter. If you'll hand it to me, I'd like to compensate you for your assistance during this operation."

"Yeah, yeah okay, here, this is, um. This is yours." Kate offered Danse the device, which was swiftly packed away and secured.

He unholstered the rifle at his side, presenting it to Katherine. "Here. You clearly have an aptitude with technology - and with energy weapons. I think you'll benefit from this; It's my own personal modification to the standard issue AER9 laser rifle."

"...really? Don't you need this?" Katherine gingerly accepted the weapon, scanning it. She could see evidence of tinkering - and, of course, the brotherhood's symbol stencilled along the barrel. She ran a thumb across the paint.

"It's not the only weapon at my disposal. Besides, I believe in paying my debts."

"Well then... thank you."

"You're welcome, civilian. Now, onto the second matter."

Kate bit her tongue, unsure of what to expect.

"I wanted to make you a proposal. We had a lot thrown at us back there, and for the most part, you handled yourself exceptionally."

She found herself wanting to disagree, but said nothing.

"Our op could have ended in disaster, but your determination kept that from happening. I believe that with a bit of training, you could be a valuable asset to the Brotherhood."

"Erm." Was she being recruited? She would have flunked out of the pre-war military almost instantly.

"The way I see it, you've got a choice. You could spend the rest of your life wandering the commonwealth, scrounging for supplies and trading your skills for a meager reward. Or, you could join the Brotherhood of Steel and make your mark on the world." Danse shifted his weight, grip tightening on the helmet he still held.

"So, what do you say?"

Kate bit her lip. "The Brotherhood of Steel, huh? You guys are... aren't you military?"

"Essentially, yes."

Her hesitation was obvious. "Is this something I can think about? I don't think I know enough here to, uh. to make a decision so quickly."

"Of course. It's a big decision. The offer still stands, and when you've made up your mind, you know where to find me." Danse took a moment to put his helmet on once again, and his voice crackled out from within. "With all that said, I need to return to the police station. The deep range transmitter ought to be installed sooner, rather than later, so we can get in contact with the rest of the Brotherhood. Thank you again for your assistance, Vance. I wish you the best."

Katherine found herself staring after Danse as he turned and left, heavy footsteps echoing off the hills around them. She shook her head as if to clear it. This whole thing had taken her off track, and she sighed. She had always been praised for her willingness to help, but so often that kept her away from her own tasks.

She certainly wasn't going to make it to Diamond City today, she realized - the sky was still light, but she knew that wasn't going to last much longer.

There weren't enough hours in the day. That had been true two hundred years ago, and it was still true now.

She wasn't looking forward to setting up camp for the night.


	3. Switchboard

Switchboard…

It started as something she thought would be simple. Just an errand to run for the Railroad. A way to put herself in their good graces. Katherine had always tried to keep herself on people’s good sides, and out here, in the wasted new world, that was more important than ever.

She never expected what was hidden under Lexington.

This was all here back in _her_ time, wasn’t it? Incredible. It all seemed like something out of a dramatic spy novel, full of twists and turns and betrayals.

And from the story Deacon told, it had all played out here, centuries after the place was originally abandoned.

The synths were… they weren’t quite the force they had seemed when she first encountered them back at ArcJet. Maybe because she was expecting them this time. Maybe because she was just getting used to battle.

Katherine didn’t like that thought.

But it was what it was.

She found herself surprised by how well she worked with Deacon. There were so many ways the mission could have gone wrong - and yet none of them played out. Carrington’s prototype was safely in hand, and they both made it out.

Deacon was impressed, Kate could tell.

She’d have to make her way back to the Old North Church. It’d be a bit of a walk.

“I think we made a good team.” Her parting words.

“The best.” His response.


	4. Failed Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving Fort Hagen, after confronting Kellogg, before returning to Diamond City.

Kate leaned against the dirty brick wall, glancing around the remains of the building they took shelter in. She supposed it had once been a bar of sorts. Maybe a pub? Now it was just empty. But, it was a roof over their heads, and that's what she needed. Dogmeat lay curled at her feet as she watched the crackling fire grow.

"You know, as much as I hate the smell, I'm kinda glad you smoke, right now. I really ought to keep a lighter on hand too, I guess. Easier than trying to start a fire by hand."

Nick sat on one of the still intact barstools, resting his elbows on the counter as he stared at the smoke curling off his lit cigarette. "It's a dumb habit, I know. They don't even do anything for me."

Katherine quirked an eyebrow. "Huh. That's..." She trailed off, unsure of whatever word she was looking for. After a moment, she scooted closer to the fire - a circle of bricks kept in it check, but the flames were growing. The whole day had been... exhausting. Fort Hagen was weighing on her mind - as was the man she had confronted inside.

"Kellogg. I... I thought we'd find more answers from him, you know?"

"You're not the only one. For an institute agent, he seemed awful ignorant. Maybe he was just good at keepin' it to himself." Nick was frustrated. Finding answers was his _job_ , and for everything to just fizzle out like that... it wasn't a good feeling. "Guess we'll have to figure out the next steps on our own."

"Yeah. I think right now though, the next step is something to eat."

Nick ground out his cigarette on the bar counter. "It's been a long day for you, huh?"

"Every day's been a long day since I climbed outta the vault." Kate grumbled, rooting through her backpack. She was certain she had a tin of pork n beans in there somewhere. Ah. There we go. She punched a hole in the lid with her pocket knife, and pried it open. Far from a delicate procedure, but at this point, she really didn't care. She set the mangled can next to the fire.

"You know what stupid little thing I'm glad about? The fact that I've always been happy to just eat stuff that comes out of a can. I knew people who always turned their nose up at this kinda thing." She shrugged. "They'd be having a rough go of it nowadays, I bet. No fancy angus steaks around anymore."

"I wonder how brahmin compares?"

"Probably not favourably. Not to those people, I mean." She glanced off to the side, out the shattered windows of the building, still a little wary of anyone that might happen by. Or anything. "Pork and beans was never a favourite of mine, though. You know what was?"

"Hmm?" Nick swiveled around on the stool, turning his attention back to Kate.

"They had this... canned spaghetti. I know that sounds... kinda awful, but I loved it as a kid. Still pretty good once I grew up, too." She thought on this for a few moments. "I think it had cheese in the sauce. You could get it with meatballs too."

Nick made a bit of a face at the thought of spaghetti coming out of a tin. "I mean, I can certainly thing of worse things to put in a can."

"Like a whole chicken."

"Erm." Nick's look of disapproval intensified.

"Never ate that. Saw what it looked like once you... unpacked it, I guess. Horrible. I guess maybe I might try it now if I got desperate."

"You'll be glad to know that there are definitely still chickens. Seen 'em running wild a few times, even."

"That's the best news I've heard all day."

The fire sputtered a bit as Kate nudged it with a broken bar stool leg.

Even through the darkness outside she could see clouds rolling in. They were beginning to blot out the stars, and she was willing to bet there was rain incoming.

Katherine's thoughts had done loops, she had wandered off on tangents, and she was finally coming back to the day's events. What she had seen, what Kellogg had said...

What Nick had said.

There were a few moments of silence as Kate mulled over a thought in her head. A serious question she wanted to ask. Finally, hesitantly, she spoke up. "So, what you said back there. About being trash... you really think that?"

Valentine scoffed. "Hard not to when the institute quite literally threw me out."

"Yeah, I suppose so..." Kate faltered a bit. This... it didn't sit right with her. It was just a little upsetting. "Well... you know, it just makes me think... one man's trash is another's treasure." She bit her tongue almost as soon as the words left her lips. That was awful, that was -

Nick laughter interrupted her harsh thoughts, and she couldn't help but laugh in response, though hers was much more nervous.

"That was... real cheesy, wow. Sorry." She admitted, apologetic. "I guess what I'm saying is... don't be too hard on yourself. You're a good man. Institute doesn't know what they lost."

"I doubt they even put any thought into it." Was he angry? Maybe a little. "But that's all ancient history. Nice to hear that some of the folks out here are appreciative, at least."

"I know I am. Can't speak for anyone else, but... well, there's gotta be others out there." Kate let her head fall to the side. "Can't wait to get ho-" she cut herself off. That wasn't right. "Back to Diamond City."

Nick didn't miss her correction. Or the drop in her voice when she made it. Now, at the end of the day, when there was nothing else to be done... he supposed it gave her time to dwell on the past. On what had been, and what no longer was.

"You still renting that room at the Dugout Inn?"

"Yeah."

"Never quite feels like home when you're payin' for it every night, that's for sure. Listen... I've got a bed back at the detective agency - not that I ever need it. You're welcome to stay there for a bit, once we get back."

Kate looked off to the side, past the crackling fire, through the windows, to the dreariness outside. "Mmm. You sure?"

"Wouldn't make the offer if I wasn't."

"I..." She was hesitant for a moment. There wasn't anything wrong with the Dugout Inn, not really, but it was busy. There were always people passing through, always conversations - and sometimes arguments. Fine enough for a temporary stay, but the atmosphere... well, it often had her on edge. She didn't do well in groups - especially of strangers - and nowadays, that feeling was only that much stronger. "I think I'll take you up on that."


	5. 81 Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is actually two small snippets shoved together

“… Another vault.”

Katherine ran her fingers across the control panel, surveying the walkway below. The harsh fluorescent lights kept the area well lit - and it seemed to her that the area was still maintained. It was a far cry from the halls of Vault 111 that she had left behind. 

She paused, hand lingering on the pip-boy remote link port on the console.

Could she open the door?

With the pip-boy plugged in, and the cover unlocked from the big red button, curiosity was getting the better of her.

“Hold it right there.” A voice crackled out from the speaker system embedded in the console, and Kate flinched, startled. Despite it all, she wasn’t expecting a response - at least, not in the form of an interruption.

“Vault 81 security. I don’t know where you got your hands on a working pipboy, but you better start talking.”

_This is what they were supposed to be, wasn’t it?_

Katherine felt a deep ache in her chest as she was introduced to the vault, only halfway listening to Austin’s chatter.  
  
She knew there were a few vaults built in Boston, but before today, the only one she had been inside was 111.  
  
The two vaults were worlds apart.  
  
Here, today, as she saw the people who lived inside 81, it struck her once again how much Vault-Tec had taken away from the residents of Sanctuary. And here she was - the last one standing out of an entire neighborhood.  
  
Why had her vault been constructed as some experimental cryo facility, instead of…  
  
She glanced across the room, at the people milling around the diner.  
  
Instead of this?  
  
Whoever had made that decision was long dead.  
  
She’d never know.


	6. CVRIE

“Yes. I must ask again - are you from Vault-Tec?”  
  
“I… There’s no more Vault-Tec. Not the company. Just what they left behind.”  
  
“Oh dear… I am afraid my programming doesn’t cover this. Please tell me they transferred authorization to you?”  
  
Something clicked in Kate’s head. That would explain the desperation in the Miss Nanny’s voice. The restrictive conditions of her programming wouldn’t let her leave - and she knew that.  
  
Katherine muttered a few unkind words under her breath. She had seen the way some of these bots were locked down, when she was out on work calls with General Atomics.  
  
It was a blatant lie, but… well, who could contradict her? Not Vault-Tec. “Yup. Sure did. You don’t need to stay here anymore.”  
  
“Oh, what excellent news. Here… I shall open the door for you. What was it you were saying earlier?”  
  
The door hissed as it slid open, and Katherine stepped inside, hazmat suit helmet tucked under her arm. “Austin; he’s a kid in the vault. The - the other part of the vault, I mean. He found a way in here and, well… he got bit by one of those molerats.” She winced. “If it were just a regular molerat it wouldn’t be this serious, would it? But what you were saying - about using them as disease incubators…”  
  
“Oh yes… what a dire situation! How awful. Ah, there is good news, though.”  
  
Kate perked up. “Yeah?”  
  
“Yes! The cure I worked to develop. Though much has expired, there is a single dose remaining. You are welcome to take it.”  
  
“Are you sure? If there’s only one left…”  
  
“This is what it was developed for! I would much rather see it used to help someone than to expire and be lost without benefit.”  
  
“Well… that makes sense. Alright. Yeah. Let’s - can you come with me? We should get out of here.”


	7. Meeting the Brotherhood

Hmm. Frequency AF95 was active again. That was the one Scribe Haylen - and Danse - had put out a distress call on, wasn’t it?

Katherine hadn’t spoken with any of them since ArcJet. It was… She just felt awkward about it all. Anxious about how that had all gone down. Danse was fine, yes, but she still felt bad about the engine firing.

Mm. But what if they needed help? She was hesitant, but flicked her pipboy to the frequency anyway.

“This is Paladin Danse on frequency nine-five. All Brotherhood of Steel units are to return to the Cambridge Police Station immediately for reassignment. Repeating…”

She thought back to the sight she had seen at Fort Hagen. The Prydwen overhead. She shuddered.

And she also recalled Danse’s invitation to join. She was certain now that the Brotherhood wasn’t a place for her, but… well, at the very least, she wanted to stay on good terms with them.

So, it was back to Cambridge Police Station.

—

“You’re certain you won’t be joining us?” There was disappointment in the paladin’s voice.

“I. Yeah. I’m sorry, it’s just. It’s a lot of responsibility. I don’t know - I don’t think I can handle that.” Kate bit her lip. She hated to let people down, but she had to draw a line somewhere, else she’d go crazy.

“Well, regardless, Elder Maxson wants to speak with you. I think it would be worth your time.” It was unsaid, but Danse hoped that the Elder might be more persuasive.

“Maxson… what, up on the airship?”

“That’s right. There’s a vertibird on the roof, if you’re willing and able to travel at this time.”

Katherine shifted her weight, glancing up at the ceiling, and the peeling paint. She had seen the aircraft as she approached. The last time she had seen one - aside from the birds that accompanied the Prydwen’s arrival - was before the war.

Maintaining those things nowadays must be hell.

“I suppose I can.”

—

Loud. That was her overwhelming opinion of vertibird travel.

Danse had told her to man the minigun, and she held a death grip on the weapon, knuckles turning white. The view was spectacular, but she’d rather have it from a more secure vantage point. Boston sprawled out below her, and the new perspective on the destruction from two centuries ago was sobering.

—

She couldn’t help but flinch as the bird jostled during the docking procedure. Her ears still rang even after the rotors fell silent.

“Are you coming?” Danse frowned up at her.

“Wha- oh yeah, yeah sorry. I just. That was something.” She shook her hands out - they had almost gone numb.

She stood back as Danse spoke to another man. Kells, his name was. He looked towards her, brow furrowed and expression stern. As much as she tried to stay out of their conversation, she couldn’t help but overhear the Lancer-Captain’s assessment of her.

“Hmph. This is the one you’ve been praising? She doesn’t look like much.”

Katherine couldn’t really be offended. That was what most people thought, after all. They were right, anyway.


	8. The Elder

She hung back by the doorway, quiet, as Maxson’s voice rose, addressing the Brotherhood members before him.

His words held conviction, dedication… but as Katherine listened to the message he delivered, she couldn’t help but worry.

Everyone around the commonwealth feared the institute, believed they were a danger - but here, Maxson had come charging in from another region, believing he knew what was best for Boston - that he could solve their problems.

That didn’t sit right with her.

 _But can I even have a say in this?_ she thought. She lived here, yes, but… she was almost as much of an outsider as Maxson was. The commonwealth now was so different from the one she called home so many years ago.

“So, I’ve been informed that despite Paladin Danse’s recommendation, you won’t be joining us. Is that correct?”

“I’m…” Katherine hesitated, hoping she could approach this diplomatically. “Honored by the invite, but you’re all, well… You’re all very serious soldiers and I really don’t think I could keep up. Whatever your plans are, that’s your fight. Not mine. Sorry.”

“Hmph. Very well.” The Elder’s displeasure was evident, and Kate tensed up under his gaze.

She took a few steps backwards, and gestured over her shoulder, glancing behind her. “I should - should I, um, go?”

“We don’t have anything else to discuss.” Maxson took pause. “Paladin Danse will stay in touch with you. We may still need to make use of your skills.” It wasn’t a question, or a suggestion.

“What… like - like contract work?”

Maxson confirmed with a nod.

“… I guess that’s okay.” Kate shifted her weight and backed out of the room, hesitant to turn her back before leaving.

Once she was back out on the catwalks of the Prydwen, she let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She placed her hands on the railing, leaning forward and hanging her head, staring down at the ocean below.

The cool air was welcome, and after a few moments, she closed her eyes.

Nick’s words echoed in her head. _‘Mark my words, the Brotherhood’s here to start a war.’_

And Maxson had confirmed exactly that.


	9. Boston After Dark

Ticonderoga was missing one thing that Katherine wanted, more, than anything, after tonight.

A hot shower.

It was her first mission as a proper railroad agent, after proving herself at Switchboard.

Package delivery.

The railroad was all about codes and cryptic words. Another layer of protection among many.

Katherine realized now how lucky they had all been that today’s problems were only raiders. She thought back to Switchboard and the destruction she had seen there. No wonder they all feared the possibility of being discovered. It had already happened once.

But for now, all was quiet. H2-22 had made it to the safehouse. High Rise and the other agents would take over from here..

She stifled a yawn. It was - god, what time was it? She hadn’t a clue. Late at night - or early in the morning. It all depended on perspective. All she knew is that it was pitch black outside.

Ticon was lit mostly by flickering oil lanterns, with the exception of the upper floors, where a few electric lights filled the rooms. Kate found herself collapsing onto a couch, watching a handful of other agents wander. There were always things to be done, even when most folks would rather be sleeping.

 _She_ would rather be sleeping.

She wondered if she had it in her to climb the stairs and go in search of a proper bed, or if she would just flake out right here on the couch.


	10. next steps / welcome to goodneighbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the rough and tumble town of goodneighbor certainly makes an impression

"So, you finally gonna let me in on this story of yours?" Piper quirked an eyebrow at Katherine, who had taken a seat and now sat with her head cradled in her hands.

"Where do I even start? We found Kellogg, after all this time. Turns out he was working for the Institute."

Piper folded her arms. "Hmph. I'm not surprised. Really does seem they're behind everything."

"But that's all we got out of him."

"Turned into another dead end." Nick added.

"Yeah. I don't... I don't know where to go from here. I mean, yeah, finding the Institute, but how?" Katherine muttered something unkind under her breath. "Kellogg would have had the answer. Not like he would have given it up."

"Man like that had to have access, yeah?" Piper paced the floor, a dozen thoughts racing through her mind.

"Yeah." Kate sighed. "But he's dead. I didn't want... I didn't want to have to do that. But he wasn't going to let me out of there without a fight."

"A murderer and kidnapper with his brains splattered against the floor. You'd think that'd be a good ending, huh?"

Kate grimaced at Piper's gruesome choice of phrasing. It wasn't anything she wanted to recall.

But something connected in Nick's head. "Brains, huh? Maybe we don't need the man. Not all of him."

Both Piper and Kate looked over at the detective, quizzical.

"Nick, you're talkin' crazy. Got a fault in the ol' subroutines?" Piper chuckled.

"Listen, hear me out. There's a place in Goodneighbor, the Memory Den. They got tech that'll let you relive the past, clear as day."

It was Kate's turn to make the connection. "So... you think they can pull memories from a dead guy?"

"It's worth a shot. If anyone can make a dead brain sing, it'll be Doctor Amari." He frowned. "But we'd need Kellogg's brain - or a piece of it."

Piper reeled back. "Jesus, Nick, gross!"

Katherine went quiet for a moment. "Kellogg had... he had some tech on him. Or, in him. There was - I hadn't seen anything like it. Hooked up to his bones, his muscles... his nervous system." She hadn't known what any of it _was_ , but she was in awe of it regardless.

"Cybernetics, huh? I've heard rumours, but I've not seen anyone rigged up like that." Nick stepped over to Kate as she rifled through her backpack, eventually pulling out a small node, still stained slightly with blood along the wires.

"You kept that?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kate's answer was sheepish. "Curiosity, I guess."

"That was in his head?" Piper's disgust was evident. "Well... guess it's a good thing you held onto it."

"That might be just what we need. Suppose I'll have to introduce the two of you to the doc, then."

* * *

The neon lights wrapped around the entrance to Goodneighbor did little to soothe Katherine's anxiety about the town. Nestled in amongst the ruins of downtown Boston, the entrance felt... claustrophobic to her. Makeshift walls piled high were a necessity to keep trouble out - but it seemed to keep a different kind of trouble _in_.

And the man aggressively marketing 'insurance' to her was the prime example of that.

Kate groaned softly. "Dude, look. Even if I didn't know you were just trying to strong-arm me for my caps, do I look like I have any to spare for your 'insurance'? I'm so broke I killed a radroach for dinner last night." A slight exaggeration, but she really didn't have many caps to spare.

The radroach thing was true, though. Nick nodded behind her, silently confirming the story.

Piper just grimaced. "Remind me never to come over to your place for dinner."

Kate glanced over her shoulder. "What? Come on. I can cook other stuff too."

" _Hey!_ " Finn raised his voice, offended. "Your dinner habits aren't what we're supposed to be talkin' about here." He stepped closer, hand on the gun at his belt. "Listen. You hand over everything in them pockets, or... "accidents" start happenin' to ya. Big, bloody "accidents." Catch my drift?"

Katherine was about to speak up, but a voice from the alley behind the man interrupted.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Everyone, time out." The figure who stepped out of the shadows caught everyone's attention.

"Nick Valentine makes a rare visit to town, and you're hassling his friend here with that extortion crap?" He tipped his hat to the detective. "Good to see you again, Nick."

"Hancock."

Kate glanced between the two of them, a look of confusion on her face.

"You know him?" she mouthed to Nick, who nodded in response.

Finn's attention was now entirely on Hancock. He scoffed. "What d'you care? She ain't one of us."

Piper was apprehensive. This whole situation set her on edge, and one hand rested on her 10mm.

Hancock took another step forward, making a sweeping gesture. "What, no love for your mayor, Finn?" His voice became stern. "I said let her go."

The two of them clearly had history, and Kate's entrance was just bringing that all to the surface.

"You're soft, Hancock." He shook his head. "You keep this up, you keep letting outsiders walk all over us? One day there'll be a new mayor."

Hancock placed a hand on Finn's shoulder - it wasn't a gentle gesture, as he dug his fingers into the man's leather jacket - a detail that was almost imperceptible. "Come on man. This is me we're talkin' about." He smirked. "Let me tell you somethin'."

His next action came without warning. One swift movement - a switchblade unsheathed from wherever it was hidden among the layers of his coat, brandished, and plunged into Finn's gut, several times over.

Katherine's eyes went wide as he slumped to the ground with a quiet grunt.

Hancock tsked as he rolled the corpse over with a foot, watching the blood pool among the brickwork. He shook his head. "Now, why'd you have to start on that again, huh? Breakin' my heart over here." He wiped the switchblade off on a pant leg before slipping it back onto his belt and returning his attention to his guests.

Kate was speechless. She stood there, eyebrows raised and lips parted like she had something to say - but there were no words. Not about the events that had just unfolded before her - or about the man who stood before her.

Hancock couldn't help but laugh at the stunned look she had. With Finn taken care of, his voice and attitude softened. "You alright, sister?"

It took her what felt like minutes to find something to say. "I - Yeah, I - you killed him?"

"Hah. You got a good pair of eyes on ya. I think you'll fit in here."

"Does this happen _often_?" She was incredulous.

"Sometimes you gotta take care of a problem before it takes root. Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people. Everyone's welcome."

Katherine didn't know how sure of that she was. "Goodneigbor, huh?"

"That's right. We cobbled this little place together out of the freaks and misfits that just wouldn't be accepted anywhere else."

"I... can see that."

Hancock raised an eyebrow - or, well, made the motion. "You got something to say?"

She felt panic set in as she realized she may have just made an enormous misstep, and gestured uselessly as she tried to clarify. "I just - um, you. Um."

It was Piper's turn to step in, and she placed a hand on Katherine's shoulder, casting an apologetic look to the mayor. "You'll have to excuse my friend here. She's fresh out of the vault. Never met a ghoul before today, I imagine."

Kate nodded vigorously. "I'm sorry, I just-"

Hancock held up a hand. "Hah. Don't worry about it, kid. Just be glad it was me you bumped into first. Some of the other folks around here might not have taken so kindly to that."

She let go of the breath she had been holding. "I... alright. Yeah."

Hancock turned to leave. "Just watch yourself around here. Might take you a bit to learn the ropes, but you start makin' friends here? Soon enough, you'll fit right in."

He placed a hand on the doorknob to the Old State House. "So long as you remember who's in charge."

The serious tone in his voice frayed Katherine's nerves just a little bit more.

She turned around to face both Nick and Piper once he was gone.

"Hell of an introduction, huh?"

"Nick, I think that's the understatement of the year."

Kate had nothing left in her, and instead considered just passing out on the pavement.

That probably would have been a terrible idea, she thought.


	11. Dangerous Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hey if you killed a guy and trawled through his memories would that fuck you up or what

"Well well. Mister Valentine." The woman draped across the scarlet chaise smiled. "I thought you had forgotten about little ol' me."

"I may have walked out of the Den, Irma, but I'd never walk out on you."

Katherine followed closely behind Nick, and huffed, a quiet action, but one that Irma definitely picked up on. She laughed, almost musical. "Oh, darling. No need to be jealous." Katherine's cheeks started burning, and Irma raised an eyebrow, that playful smile still on her face. "I take it the two of you are looking for Amari? She's downstairs, as usual." Irma pointed out the stairwell at the back of the room, past decadent curtains faded with age.

The glamor of the Memory Den's lobby faded away as they descended the staircase, nothing but dusty bricks and old wood. Nick looked over his shoulder at Katherine, amused. "Irma thinks you're jealous, huh?"

Kate said nothing, lips sealed shut as she stared down at the steps under her feet.

That brief exchange, her words - or lack of them - struck Nick. But right now, they had other things to do.

Under the Memory Den was Amari's workshop - computer consoles lined the walls, covered in buttons and dials, panels and displays. All of it was in remarkable shape - as were the two memory loungers that sat central in the room.

"Doctor Amari?" Nick's voice caught the attention of the older woman who's attention was focused on a terminal, connected to everything via a nest of tangled wires.

"Yes?"" As she turned, she looked not to Nick, but instead, Katherine. "You - I think I know you. Aren't you the new agent with the Railroad?"

Katherine was surprised - and Amari responded to that. "Word travels quickly among us."

"You - you're with the Railroad too?"

"In a manner of speaking. I provide services for them that no one else in the commonwealth could. Through the memory loungers, you see. But what brings you here today?"

Katherine struggled to figure out where to even start. "We need your help. There's this man - Kellogg. He... you can extract memories, right? From people's brains?"

"Yes, technically. But normally we only allow clients to experience their own memories. Anything else is, well... What's this all about?"

It was Nick's turn to chime in. "We need a deep dig, Amari. This Kellogg guy, he had some important info up in his head. Might be the key to cracking open a case. Not gonna be an easy task, though."

The doctor was skeptical. "Had? Past tense?"

Nick let out a sigh. "He's already dead. Cold on the floor."

Amari raised her voice - only a touch. "Are you two _mad?!_ Even if we ignore the fact you're asking me to defile a corpse, the memory simulators require intact brains to function. Intact, LIVING brains."

"Please. There's got to be something you can do. Nick told me you're the only person out there who might be able to pull this off." Kate was desperate.

Nick took a step forward. "Listen... this brain, dead as it is, it had inside knowledge of the Institute. You and I both know they're the biggest scientific secret of the commonwealth. Even beyond this case... you need this, and so do we."

It was obvious that stuck with Amari. She thought on it, and sighed. "You make a convincing point, Valentine. I'll take a look, but there are no guarantees." Hesitant, she asked, "Do you have it with you?"

"Um. Sort of?" Katherine kept the cybernetic nodule close - she slipped out out of a belt pocket, and offered it in her palm to Amari. She was... surprised, to say the least.

"What's this? It's not a brain. This is... wait. If this was attached to the hippocampus... There's a neural interface here." She turned the device over in her hands as Nick stepped closer, scrutinizing the tiny machine. He hadn't managed to get a close look at it before now.

"Huh. Those circuits look awfully familiar."

Kate was quiet as the two of them spoke.

Amari looked to Nick. "It should. It looks like the Institute tech that went into this bears more than a passing similarity to what they used for the earlier model synths. I imagine there's something quite like this inside _your_ head."

Though this wasn't quite the technology Katherine was familiar with, her mind was working overtime. "Wait. Nick's an older synth. Does that mean..."

"I think it does. We might be able to connect this up to him."

Both Nick and Katherine frowned at what Amari had to say next. "Even if this does work... it's tremendously risky. We'd be wiring something directly to his brain."

He dismissed her concern, and shook his head "Don't worry about me, Amari. This could prove more important than an old bot like me. Let's do this."

"Very well. If we're going to do this... take a seat."

"If I start cackling like an old, grizzled mercenary, pull that thing out, okay?"

Valentine grimaced as Amari detached the back of his head. As careful as she was, there was still something jarring about having someone remove parts of you. She had been in his skull before, but that was years ago.

And that didn't have her hooking in bits of a dead mercenary.

"Guess we should be happy the institute prioritizes compatibility, huh?"

"I'm glad to see you're finding humor in this situation, mister Valentine. It's important that you keep talking to me, to asses your cognitive function. Any slight changes could be dire."

"Got it, doc." Though he kept his head steady, his gaze lifted to meet Katherine's - and a small part of him was still surprised by just how troubled she looked. "Aw, hey. Wwhat's that look for? Let me guess -" he groaned, trying not to flinch as Amari reconfigured a few wires. "You'd rather be the one poking around in there?" He chuckled, a little weakly. Trying to lighten the situation. Maybe not effectively.

Kate felt her insides twist up as Amari had her hands inside Nick's head. She was sure he had to be more uncomfortable with the situation than she was... but the whole thing didn't sit right with her. She looked away, down at her hands; couldn't bring herself to respond.

She wished she had backed out of this whole thing. Her chest was tight with worry - was this going to be worth it? What if they got no answers?

What if everything went wrong?

Her head spun with a thousand ways that could happen.

And she wasn't just putting herself at risk. That was one thing.

Nick had volunteered to help, but...

She didn't want anything to happen to him.

Amari continued onwards. "Are you feeling any different?"

"There's... flashes. Flashes, and static. There's somethin' there, doc, but I can't make any sense of it." There was frustration in his voice and he narrowed his eyes.

Amari stepped back. "Damnit. That's what I was afraid of. The mnemonic impressions are encoded."

"Encoded. So we can't get in?" Bad news, thought Katherine.

"That's right. One last failsafe from the Institute. "

Nick sat, hands on his knees, head hanging, as he muttered a curse against the Institute.

"Is Nick going to be okay?"

Amari was quick to soothe Kate. "Yes, all the connections are stable. It should be as simple as unplugging the implant when we're done here." She folded her arms. "We still have the current problem to deal with. A single mind doesn't have the power to break this encryption, but... What if we used two?" She gestured to the loungers on either side of her. "If we hook up both you and Mister Valentine... connect up the loungers. RUn your cognitive functions in parallel."

Kate cocked her head. "Does it... work like that? You can do that with mainframes, but... brains?"

"It should work. He'll act as a host, and you can drive through whatever memories we find inside that implant."

Kate's stomach churned. It was an absolutely incredible scenario. Completely insane. But then again - what part of her life nowadays _wasn't_?

"Sharing a mind. Is - is he going to be able to see anything in my head?"

"No, no. The connection won't be two way. He won't see anything - and all you'll see is what's in the implant."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "What, you still got some secrets locked up in there?"

"Wh - no no, nothing like that I was just... I was just wondering. Anyway," Kate stammered, moving the conversation onwards, "What am I gonna see in there?"

All Amari could do was shrug. "Honestly, I have no clue. This isn't something I've done before, and considering we don't have the entire brain... it might not even be anything cohesive."

Katherine made a bit of a face. "Alright, well... I guess we're gonna do this."

"Take a seat in the lounger on the right. And keep your fingers crossed. Valentine, you'll be on the one to the left."

Nick exchanged a glance with Katherine. "See you on the other side."

Katherine settled into the lounger. As plush and luxurious as the lining was, she couldn't help but grimace.

"I'll pull you out if anything goes wrong." came Amari's voice, from somewhere behind her.

"But will you know if it's going wrong?"

"I hope so."

They both went silent.

Kate tried her best to relax, laying back and shutting her eyes.

"Initiating brain-wave migration between the transplant and the host. Ah - mnemonic activity coming from the transplant. Degenrated, but... it's there! I'm going to load you in. Just... hold on!"

It was only a moment later when the whole world seemed to drop out from under her. Almost every sensation in her body dulled, turning to nothing more than a faint static.

She jolted upright - or thought she did. Around her was something like a thick fog. Amari's voice echoed faintly, but Kate couldn't make out anything she was saying. Moments passed in front of her, things and places she knew she had never seen, yet still they held a deep familiarity.

A man's voice - angry, distant.

A gun in her hands. No - not her hands. A child's hands, in place of hers. A gun offered, and given, by a mother.

Her voice. "People like to talk, and hope someone else is going to keep them safe. You take this. You're old enough. It's your job to protect us. Your father's useless; but you won't turn out like him." She scoffed. "All this talk of the NCR. It's useless. The only thing that will protect you in this world is that gun in your hands."

Her final words hung in the air. "You need to learn to use it if you're going to survive."

The room they sat in faded, memories of one family giving way to another. They stood, hands on the edge of a chipped ceramic sink, staring out the window at the distinctive shape of the Golden Gate bridge, which still stood despite the toll time had taken on it. The paint was faded, chipped, and it was wrapped in fog - something that persisted in spite of everything.

They turned around - Kate, Kellogg. One and the same at this moment, in this memory.

And there was Sarah. There had been love there once, for her. Maybe there still was. But it had been buried away, down under anger. Not at her. At those who had killed her.

Kellogg's voice was there, in Kate's mind. "She would have been better off if she never met me." He wasn't talking to Kate. He was taking to himself. But here, in this messy, muddled world, they stood in the same space. "She'd have stayed in the Hub. Might have found someone who didn't kill people for a living. They'd have made her happier. She'd almost certainly have lived longer."

That anger had turned to stone over the years, but here, with moments pulled out of history, placed under the spotlight, clearer than they had been in many years... the rage had resurfaced.

And as they turned away from the quiet family scene, revolver in hand, the home behind them folded away. A dark corridor opened up in front, the floor damp beneath their boots. Taunts from a man forgotten by most. Except by Kellogg.

"You thought you could just fuck with us, and we wouldn't fuck with you?"

A voice belonging to a man whose name had been erased with time. Today was vengeance, for Sarah. For Mary. For the family taken away by the cruelty of this world. The family that they weren't allowed to have.

Fury boiled within them.

"Just so you know... they died like dogs... and you weren't there to protect them."

With those words repeated in their mind, they kicked open the door in front of them. No screams, no shouts, no words. Just sights trained on the men inside.

As they fired the first shot, it all vanished.

Another day - years later. A bar, somewhere in the wasteland. Where? Didn't matter. Not anymore.

Two men. "Mind if we sit down?"

"Suit yourself." Their voice came, husky. Familiar. Theirs - not theirs.

"So, uh. I hear you'll take care of people's problems. Is that right?" He was nervous, fearful. Twitchy, looking over his shoulder.

"If you pay me." They were disinterested - whatever their problems were, it didn't matter. The caps were the only part that mattered.

The other stranger spoke. "We'll pay you."

The first man, the blond, interrupted. "You do this all by yourself? No one else."

"That's right."

"We pay you when the job's done."

"If that's the way you want to do it." Business as usual. The way it had been for ages, now. Nothing but routine.

The scene collapsed in on itself. It was nothing. Unimportant moments, part of the past.

But another day - a meeting. Somewhere, hidden away in Boston. In a room that stunk of mildew and oil. A woman at a table, and her entourage. Synths. Gen1s. Metal and wires.

"Mr. Kellogg. I'm glad you decided to meet with me."

That name. His name. Their name?

"Heard about the institute. Wanted to see for myself if they exist."

"As you can see... we do."

"What do you want?"

"It's come to my attention that you've been rather... disruptive. Of our operations. This must stop."

They shrugged, cigarette in hand slowly burning down. "I do what people pay me to do. That's all." They took a drag. "If that's a problem for you, well, there's one way out."

"And what's that, Mister Kellogg?" That name again. It rang through them to the core.

"If I'm working for you, there's no more problem." Their words were punctuated with a smirk. Money could solve a lot. "From what I hear, you can afford me."

The woman who sat at the desk looked offended. She laced her hands together, and turned stern. "I don't think you fully understand the situation you're in."

"I think I do."

"Very well." With a dismissive gesture, she commanded the trio of synths with her to attack.

It was a flurry of action, but the machines were clunky. Unrefined. They were predictable - and they were taken down with ease. Hardly a threat.

As they executed the final synth, their attention returned to the institute agent, expression unchanging.

She hummed. "Impressive. We may have something to talk about after all."

That moment stood so much clearer than so many others. It was pivotal. So much depended on what went down in that one small room. The Institute had the resources, and they had the expertise.

And as the agent opened her mouth to speak again, the environment changed. This time... things were crisp. Clear. And it was somewhere that both recognized.

A chill ran down their spine. The room was frigid, surfaces encrusted with ice. As they exhaled, they watched their breath cloud in the air before them.

Vault 111. Cryogenics Facility.

A robotic voice spoke - one that they - she? - hadn't heard in what felt like forever. But it still sent that twist of dread through them.

"Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended."

The whole room seemed to skip and turn to static for a moment, as they stepped from one pod to the next. Like a broadcast with a faulty signal.

She screamed a protest inside her own head. No. Not her head. Kellogg's. Again, the moment skipped, the world flickering out of existence for just a fraction of a moment. Her heart pounded inside her chest. She remembered this moment. She had heard it. She knew it was the death of her friends - and that it lead to the deaths of others. And so she pushed. Through the memory, through the moment, trying to break through the ice and the fog.

Amari's voice sounded once again, raised in concern. "Heart rate rising. This is - oh no."

Katherine never wanted to see this moment play out in front of her. She had seen the aftermath.

And yet, her hand. Kellogg's hand. Their hand. The revolver lifted. She saw the terror in Nate's face and -

With a bang, it all collapsed around her.

She held her breath as they lifted their head. The vault was gone. In its place... a house. Somewhere in the wasteland.

Katherine was dizzy. Her head spun, and she could barely focus on the events in front of her.

But there was... a child. A boy. Ten years old.

Shaun?

The memories this time - she was detached from them. They - Kellogg - looked up as the door opened. The man in front of them wore a long leather coat. Dark sunglasses hid his eyes, but he was attentive.

"Kellogg."

They knew each other.

The name was another electric jolt down her spine.

Kellogg's voice came again, from her. Them. "One of these days you're going to get your head blown off, barging in here like that."

Her attention faded as they conversed. The whole scenario had her rattled, and she barely clung to consciousness.

But as the man in the leather coat spoke again, his voice flat, she strained to focus.

A scientist gone rogue?

Kellogg was in disbelief, and _that_ was what snapped her back to the memory.

"Doctor Brian Virgil. We know he's hiding somewhere in the Glowing Sea. Here's his file."

"Capture and return, or just elimination?"

"Elimination. He was working on a highly classified program."

This scientist. If Kellogg hadn't gotten to him... The memory continued to play out, but Katherine was lost in thought.

It was the crackle of energy and the flash of blue light that alerted her. The man and the child had both vanished. "Teleportation?" Amari's incredulous voice said what Katherine was thinking. "Now it all makes sense. No one can find the entrance to the Institute because there IS no entrance."

Katherine's vision clouded around the edges as she struggled to stay awake. "Dark..." she murmured.

"Let me pull you out of there..."


	12. On the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one should actually go right before Boston After Dark, I'll put it there in a bit, just gonna leave it as the latest chapter for a while before i move it back there.  
> not strictly main questy but i feel it goes more here than the vancentine collection?

Katherine slouched across the ancient sofa, staring at the ground as she tried to find the words she needed. “It’s been on my mind a lot, but… I don’t know, I guess it’s just hard to talk to most people about. And with everything going on it’s… things have been so busy and there’s not been a chance to sit down and _think_. Not until now. And I realize no one’s gonna get what I’m going through. I’m grieving the loss of a world they never knew.” She sighed. “That sounds so… pretentious. But it’s true.”

Nick was quiet for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of opening up. “I knew,” he said. “Or at least, I remember what he knew.”

She furrowed her brow, thoughts stopped in her tracks by his statement. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I told you about the prototype thing, didn’t I? Well, I didn’t come standard with this shining personality.” He twirled an unlit cigarette between his fingers, while his left hand fished around in his pocket, coming back up with a tarnished lighter. The _clink_ it made was unmistakable as he lit up.

But he never took a drag. The cigarette smoldered between his fingers, hung on his lips, but…

Kate realized that as often as she had seen him with one, she had never seen him smoke. Not properly. And tonight, the realization had finally formed in her head.

He didn’t have lungs. Hard to smoke without them. When he sighed, when he gasped - even whistling - it was all just convincingly simulated audio.

She said nothing about this, instead just watching the synth as he continued.

“They built me off brain scans of some pre-war detective. I got his memories, his personality, hell, his accent. I even took his name. Didn’t know what else to do, really.”

Katherine shifted in her seat, crossing one leg over the other and leaning forwards. “So, wait. You’re saying there was another Valentine? Back in 2077?”

_Another_. Her choice of words struck him. She wasn’t asking about the first Nick Valentine. Or the real one. Just… the other one.

“Yeah. It’s not all crystal clear, but I got lots of his life in my head. Couldn’t tell you if the missing bits are from faulty data, all the knocks I’ve taken, or just plain old age.”

“That’s… that’s really something else, huh? Shit, I can’t keep track of my own life. Gotta be hard with memories from someone else.”

“I’ve gotten used to it, over the years.” The cigarette he held had almost burned down to the filter - Nick took a moment to snub it out against the couch. The thing was already trashed, after all. What was one more mark? “Didn’t mean to turn this whole talk around and make it about me, though.”

Katherine shook her head. “No, no. Don’t be. Really. It’s… I like hearing about you, but this…” she shrugged. It was nice, she thought, that she wasn’t the only one living a crazy life behind the scenes. Of course that struck her as not the most _polite_ thing to say. She couldn’t help but chuckle as she turned the words over in her head , trying to find a way to say it that wasn’t quite so blunt. “I guess it’s good to know at least someone else out there’s gone through weird stuff. And that they’re doing okay.”

It was Nick’s turn to smile. “Yeah, for the most part. It’s not something I’ve brought up too often.”

“Mmhm. I guess I can see why. So,” Kate trailed off, twiddling her fingers. “Gotta admit you’ve got me curious now.”

“I’m not surprised. I think you’ve got more questions in your head than there are answers in the world.”

“Any chance I could ask you some of those questions?”

“Sure. Go for it.” He gestured at her. “But you gotta let me ask you some too.”

“Seems like a fair trade.”

“So,” Kate gestured at his trench coat, “did you borrow the other Nick’s wardrobe, too?”

He couldn’t help himself from laughing. “Nah, we just have the same tailor.” He tugged at the coat’s lapels. “Not that you could tell, after everything this one’s been through. But it’s all about dressing for the part. Makes people take you more seriously, most of the time. The clothes make the man, and all.” The very slightest hint of a frown crossed his face. “Or synth, in this case.”


	13. Mnemonic Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> memory den aftermath

Katherine felt the world slowly come back into focus. Every part of her ached, and her limbs were heavy. It took a moment before she realized Amari had her hands on her, helping her to her feet.

"Slow movements, okay? I can't be sure what kind of side effects you might experience. No one's ever... done this before."

"I... god, my head. It feels like someone tore me apart and put me back together... really badly." Kate pressed her hands against her face with a sharp groan.

Amari let out a low chuckle. "That's not a bad description of what just happened." She pressed a syringe into Kate's hand. "Here. Med-X. For the pain. There are some stimpaks on the table - take a few. THey should help, as well."

"Thanks. I - I think."

"Are you ready to talk about what happened in there?"

"God. Where do I even start? Kellogg, I - he. We?" Kate was at a loss.

The doctor looked her over, worried. "We?" she repeated.

"I don't know."

Amari hesitated. "Well... it looks like you might have found what you needed. One of the Institute's secrets. And a man who might know more."

"Virgil. Hiding out in - what's the Glowing Sea?"

"A problem. It doesn't make sense. No one goes to the Glowing Sea. Not even if they're desperate. The radiation there would kill him."

"But it would kill anyone after him too."

"You're right. Maybe he's found a way to survive there. And you'll have to as well, if you plan to follow him."

"I... I have to, don't I?"

"All I can do is wish you luck." Amari gestured to the doorway behind her. "I unplugged Mister Valentine first. Removed the implant while you were still waking up. He should be waiting for you upstairs."

Katherine staggered up the stairs to the main floor of the memory den, groaning. Her head was pounding, and every step made it worse.

Irma's voice came from somewhere to her left, soft and concerned. "Do take care of yourself, dear. That can't have been easy." She gestured towards the entrance. "Mister Valentine is waiting for you."

"Mmmn." was all Kate could muster in response.

"Nick," she mumbled, "Nick, it feels like they cracked my head open and scrambled my brain like an egg."

"Well, I hope you had fun in there." The voice that replied was... it was wrong.

It wasn't Nick Valentine.

Katherine snapped to attention, despite the pain screaming inside her skull.

"Was it worth it? Did you find what you were looking for?" The sneer plastered across his face was something she had never seen on the synth - but Kate had seen it before, elsewhere.

On Kellogg.

The man whose memories she had just trawled through. The man whose life she had just relived. The man whose voice now crackled out of Nick

She went cold, as all the blood drained from her face.

"What - no, you're dead. You can't be here. Not in him."

She was afraid. Scared of what this meant.

The only response she received was a throaty laugh - one which was quickly cut off by a far more familiar voice.

Nick's attitude softened, his shoulders relaxed, and he looked up to Katherine. "Oh, hey. Didn't see you there. Are you done with the doc?" He furrowed his brow, then got to his feet, reaching out. "Is something wrong? You don't look so good." It wasn't the pain he saw, but the fear.

She stopped herself from flinching away, but only just. "You - Kellogg's voice. I - he spoke to me."

Nick placed a hand on her arm and she shuddered. This time it was his turn to pull away.

"Nick, is he - is he still in there?"

He frowned. What was she talking about? Kellogg's voice... that's something he would have noticed.

Wasn't it?

"What're you talking about?"

Katherine's shoulders sunk. "I... don't know. I thought - I was sure just now that -" she cut herself off. Was she sure? "Are you okay?" That was the important part.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." A lie. He was rattled by her reaction, by what she had said. But he was good at keeping that under wraps. "You, on the other hand... you don't look so good."

It was easy enough to pull her thoughts away. "I don't feel so good." An understatement. Her legs wanted to give out from under her. "Can we maybe just... stay here for the night?" Her breath stopped in her chest for a moment.

"Well, maybe not here in the Den, but there's a hotel in town. You're not in any shape to be traveling."

She knew he was right. She also knew she was stupid enough to drive herself onwards. And while Nick was the reason she wanted to stop for the night, it was out of... was it concern? Fear? _Dread_ , perhaps, that Kellogg was still in there. She wanted, more than anything, to know that Nick was alright. That it was just him. That there was no one else along for the ride.

* * *

Hotel Rexford must have been a real fancy place once. Even now, after the war, and decades of decay, it still held a glimmer of what once was. Towering windows, elaborate wrought fixtures, and arched ceilings stood in stark contrast to the peeling paint and cracked wood.

But someone still took pride in the place. It was tidy, clean - as much as it could be - and well lit.

Nick found himself discussing the room rental while Katherine sat, bent over, trying very hard not to pass out.

"No, we don't need a double bed. Only one of us is gonna be usin' it."

Clair chuckled as the detective laid down a handful of caps. "Alright, alright. I'm only teasing. It's part of the job."

"You sure about that?"

"No, but who's gonna say otherwise? Anyway," she gestured towards the stairs, "top floor, last door on the right."

Kate groaned as she overheard. Stairs. Great. "Can't I just sleep here?"

"Only if you wanna risk Fred rummaging through your pockets."

"That happened _once_ , Clair."

"Once is enough to start warning folks. Especially 'round Goodneighbor."

Nick rolled his eyes as he returned to Kate's side, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you upstairs."

She didn't protest.

* * *

Katherine lay facedown on the bed, clutching the sheets as she buried her face in a pillow. "Ugh." was about all she could say.

Piper leaned against the doorframe, looking between her and Nick. "Come on, blue. It can't have been that bad."

Kate rolled over onto her back and thrust a middle finger into the air, directed squarely at Piper, who stifled laughter.

"Alright, alright. Maybe it was."

"How bout _you_ give it a try next."

"No." The answer came from both Nick and Piper, almost simultaneously.

"That's fair." She was reluctant to open her eyes. Didn't want to sit up.

"So..." Piper gestured. "Was it worth it?"

Kate bristled a bit at the words she had chosen. "I don't know yet. But we've got somewhere to go next. It doesn't sound good, though."

"Oh?"

"The Glowing Sea."

" _Oh._ " Piper frowned. "That's one hell of a next step, huh?"

"Yeah. Don't... I don't know what that's gonna be like."

"Extremely radioactive. Hope you've got a stash of Rad-X."

Kate rolled over once more, trying to shut out the light coming in through one of the windows. "You don't have anything to worry about there, Nick."

* * *

Piper had left... how long ago? Even on a, good day, Kate never had a good sense of time. Right now, everything just sort of blurred together. She curled in on herself, trying to shut out the pain that lingered in her head despite the med-x and stimpaks.

Nick was occupied by what Katherine had said earlier. About Kellogg's voice. Doctor Amari had said something about lingering mnemonic impressions - but how long would they linger? With the implant removed, he felt fine. But he had no memory of... of what Katherine had seen. Had heard.

Calling the situation _troubling_ was an understatement.

"What did you see in there?"

"I - too much." She pressed her hands against her face, displacing her glasses. Everything was muddled now, unclear. Hard enough when that was the state of your own memories, but with someone else's thrown in... "I didn't know... I was him. I saw everything. Felt everything. I didn't know who I was." And very quietly, she added, "I... I'm still not sure."

Valentine took a seat on the bed next to her - she twitched a bit as he laid a hand on her shoulder. It was a small gesture, but she found comfort in it.

"Nick? Promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't go anywhere tonight."

"Yeah. I'll stay."

As much as that moment in the lobby of the memory den had scared her, right now, the thought of being left alone was just that much worse.

* * *

Nick was used to having the night to himself. It came with not having to sleep. Tonight, however, it just gave him all the more time to think on the days events. To worry, and dwell.

He had enough trouble separating himself from his past - or rather, the memories he carried from the original detective Valentine - and the thought of anything left behind from the implant, from Kellogg?

There wasn't much that he was afraid of, but that possibility...

How to rule it out?

With as much as he was pacing around the room, he'd have a hole worn in the floor by morning.

* * *

Katherine was used to pain. Chronic. Acute. Whatever it was, she always just shouldered it and kept going. Tonight, though... this was something different, and she wasn't herself. Sleep never came easily, though she usually spent the time tossing and turning restlessly. Now, she lay deathly still, too exhausted to move, but her mind wouldn't let go. Every time she drifted off, it brought back vivid flashes of Kellogg's life. Of the things she had done.

No. The things _he_ had done. That she only bore witness to.

The line between the two was so muddled.

Awake, she could keep everything separate.

But she couldn't stay awake all night.

* * *

The morning came, and even though Katherine had eventually gotten _sleep_ , she hadn't gotten any rest. The sunlight streaming in through the faded curtains was not a welcome sight.

She flipped herself over and flopped an arm across her face in an attempt to block out the light.

Nick's voice came from the other side of the room. "I'd say good morning, but you don't really look like you're feeling that."

"Nope."

* * *

Kate paced along the sidewalk outside the hotel. She hadn't spent much time on the streets of Goodneighbor, having made a beeline for the Memory Den upon arrival.

It was amazing how different the town was from Diamond City.

And yet, she felt just as out of place.

"Something on your mind?"

"Isn't there always?" She sighed.


End file.
